IEA estimates that the number of people without electricity is close to 1.4 billion. This implies that every ﬁfth household on our planet does not have access to electricity. Given that fossil fuels are a limited resource, it is necessary and wise to develop opportunities to provide people with electricity through renewable resources, such as solar, wind and biomass. The smart microgrid system developed by Gram Power has been providing ﬂexible, modular and reliable power from renewable sources of energy to people using prepaid recharge energy credits through a local village entrepreneur, similar to buying pre-paid credits for cell phones.
Gram Power installs distribution lines from the generation station to every home along with a proprietary smart prepaid meter that detects and eliminates energy theft, monitors power consumptionof consumers and optimizes the supply and demand of power. Once a microgrid has been installed, a local entrepreneur is recruited and trained for operating the plant, its management and for the sale of power. Gram Power sells energy credits at a wholesale price to the entrepreneur, who in turn earns a commission by selling these credits to the consumers.

Smart microgrid is an innovative solution that has the ability to tap renewable energy resources thereby reducing GHG emissions and enhancing the quality of life of people. Gram Power’s smart microgrid also has the ability to be scaled up from as few as ﬁfty homes to several thousand households. If this innovation penetrates the remote areas of the world it has the ability to reach out to 48 million people by 2022.